This book is a really fast read. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a book I could hardly put down. As the back jacket notes, "one starts to breathe its air." I went to the circus when I was about five and brought home a chameleon. It was an exotic pet for those days. I read the biography of P.T. Barnum when I was in 5th grade. I really find the circus life fascinating, but I never wanted to run off and join it. After reading this book, I know why.
Jacob Jankowski, the main character, is ninety-two or ninety- three and in a nursing home. The circus has come to town next door to his residence. One of the old geezers at Jacob's table starts telling everyone that he watered the elephants, but Mr. J. calls him a liar. Mr. J isn't quite sure where he is or what he remembers.
He goes back and forth remembering how,as a young man, he came to the circus and how he met Marlena and Rosie. The setting for the circus is in the 30's when the depression had hit the country, including the circus. The story is about the performers, the freaks, Uncle Al- the boss, the clowns, the job of being the vet for the animals, and Rosie the elephant that would save them. But, mostly it is about the circus secrets.
The ending is a surprise and will be left unmentioned. I can still here the sounds of the midway and smell the popcorn.
